Acme Packing Company
I’m not sure if this is the bargaining or acceptance stage of grief, but like many of you, I wondered, “What do Pro Bowl pass-rushers look like when they return to the field after an ACL tear,” following Micah Parsons’ injury on Sunday. So I did the legwork myself and found five Pro Bowl edge defenders who have had the same injury over the last decade. (Forgive me, this is how I grieve.)
Let’s go over the ages at which they sustained their injuries (Parsons is in his age 26 season, for perspective), how quickly they returned to the field and what their production looked like when they returned to the field. Depending on your expectations for a post-ACL tear Parsons, the case study could be viewed as positive or negative for his future.
Bosa earned Pro Bowl honors as a rookie in 2019 and tore his left ACL in Week 2 of the next season, his age 23 season. While he missed all of the 2020 season, he was able to return to the field for the 2021 regular-season opener. In the four seasons following his ACL tear, he made the Pro Bowl every single year and averaged 13.4 sacks per season.
This season, in Week 3, Bosa tore his other ACL (his right leg this time) in his age 28 season and hasn’t yet returned to the field.
As a rookie, Chubb posted 12 sacks. The following year, he tore his ACL in Week 4 of his age 23 season. Like Bosa, he also missed the remainder of the season, but he was also able to return to the field for the next regular season. In his return year, he made the first of his two Pro Bowls.
In 2023, he tore his ACL again in Week 17 of his age 27 season. Like Bosa, it was to the opposite knee than the one he originally injured. He missed the end of the 2023 season and all of the 2024 season. He returned to the field in 2025 and has posted 6.5 sacks.
Packers fans already know the story about Gary, but he tore his ACL in his age 25 season, when he was playing the best football of his career. While he did make his first Pro Bowl after his injury, he has never really been able to recapture the magic that he had going for the 2022 season.
He went down in Week 9 of 2022 and was ready to play football in the Packers’ season opener the next year. Since then, he’s averaged eight sacks a game per season.
Young was named a Pro Bowler during his rookie season after being drafted second overall in the 2020 draft. In his sophomore season, his age 22 campaign, he tore his ACL in Week 10. He missed the remainder of that year and was only able to play in the final three games of the...
